Chewy Affiliate Program Vs Amazon Associate – Which Is Better? 

Pet ownership in the US is growing by the day and so is the eCommerce sector. That means more people are searching and buying pet stuff online. If you’re looking to make money with pet products on the side, you may be thinking of becoming an Amazon Associate. But are other companies worth looking at? Introducing the Chewy affiliate program.  

What Is Chewy? 

Launched in 2011, Chewy is an online pet retailer that operates in the US. It’s currently owned by Petsmart and has a customer service center based in Florida. Their site offers a variety of pet food, treats, supplies, and pharmacy in different brands. 

For a long time, they didn’t have an affiliate program until recently which you can find the link on the main site. They are officially partnered with a network called Partnerize (I’ve never heard of it) but there are limited details about the affiliate offers. 

Interestingly, I’ve also found the Chewy affiliate program on other networks. At Flexoffers, the payout is $12 per new customer referral while on Admitad, it’s $15 per referral. If you’re not familiar with Admitad, it’s actually the home network for the popular AliExpress affiliate program.

Regardless of where you’re signing in from, it usually takes a few days to review your application. Make sure you have a blog in place as this is one of the criteria advertisers will want to look at before accepting you into the program. It’s the same thing when you apply for Amazon as well. 

The site needs to be relevant to the niche so in this case, your domain name, the theme, and content should all have the qualities of a pet blog. If you are still working on building the foundation, you may be interested to use the WordPress tool down below to speed up the process. 

Then, find a clean-looking WordPress theme as the layout design for easy reading. Next, create content that is specific to that niche by using targeted keywords (more on that later).  

Is Chewy Better Than Amazon? 

It’s easy to assume that Chewy is better based on the commission offered but that’s not always the case. When choosing between the two, you need to consider each company’s advantage and what it can offer to its customers. 

Chewy’s Selling Points 

Chewy has a strong upward trend for its brand, as can be seen from Google Trend since 2016. 

The positive reputation, I believe, is largely influenced by their good customer service ratings and fast shipping time. Those humanized qualities distinguish them from Amazon and it makes people feel comfortable buying from their store. 

If you care to do some research, you’d find that certain products/brands are found on Chewy and not on Amazon. So that’s a good opportunity to target a new group of buyers. Plus, Amazon tends to run out of stock on certain items without your knowledge sometimes and that can really kill your conversion. 

The third thing is that Chewy’s web interface is more pleasant than browsing through Amazon’s crowded marketplace. In the store, you can clearly see what’s on sale and the discount offers while with Amazon, you often have to work your way through each product. Sometimes you find them, sometimes you don’t. 

Amazon’s Selling Points 

Amazon is clearly more popular in terms of online shopping and chances are, most people already have Prime accounts, to begin with. So getting another account to buy the same stuff at the same price can seem redundant for some people. Plus, Amazon offers auto-ship programs just like Chewy does too. 

When you refer someone to buy a pet product or supplies on Amazon, you make 8% per sale out of this category each time. If I understand the fine print correctly, Chewy only pays you per new customer signup. If your reader is already a registered member with Chewy, you don’t earn a cent and if they are ordering the second time, you don’t earn any commission either. 

Meanwhile on Amazon, when customers add other products into their check out, on top of the selected pet item, you get commissioned too even though they are from different categories. Here is the range of commissions you are entitled to earn when they click through your affiliate links. 

So each has its pros and cons and it really depends on the type of audience you are targeting. I would say, Chewy is a great option for new pet owners while Amazon is best reserved for regular shoppers who want the convenience of purchasing other stuff as well. 

Can you be part of both programs? Definitely, as long as there’s no conflict of interest and you’re not confusing your readers on where they should go. You can also read about other pet affiliate programs here. 

How to Target Your Audience? 

Regardless of which outlet you recommend, it’s important to kick off your blog with good content in mind. That means, providing information that add-values, highlighting pet products that are reliable and of good quality and publishing regularly. 

You can start by looking at what sells best in these stores (see ratings and customer reviews) and determine if it fits into your recommendation. If you have experience using them, so much better because that way, your content will feel more personalized. 

Alternatively, you can start by searching for targeted keywords which are basically terms that people are frequently using online before they buy a certain product. This can include reviews, how-to’s, listicle and general tips. For beginners, I would suggest writing blogs for these topics first and when you gain more experience, you can move onto making YouTube videos as well.   

Using my favorite keyword tool, I’ve compiled a list of targeted-low-competition keywords just for you. Feel free to use them in your first batch of content creation. Add your own personal experience, make it interesting and informative for your audience to read. 

• best food for large breed puppies
• puppy kits for new owners
• what are the benefits of grain-free dog food
• how to save money on dog food
• Purina pro plan dog food for sensitive stomach
• best dog food for small breed puppies
• best tick prevention for dogs
• how to train a puppy to walk on a leash without pulling
• how to feed a rabbit
• saltwater aquarium starter kits

# Affiliate Tips – You should have these content on your blog before submitting the program application. This will show the advertisers that you are knowledgable about the niche and serious in partnering with them for the long term. Once you are accepted, you can leverage the affiliate links and banners on a specific text, images, and space to initiate sales conversion. 

Grow a Profitable Pet Blog 

There’re many opportunities to monetize from the pet niche online and these are just two places you can begin with. The Chewy affiliate program may be new in the market but I think the company has a lot to offer in terms of product varieties, price points, and customer service. That’s something worth showing to people and letting them know about the long term benefits. 

I hope you’ve discovered some new tips on how to make more money from your pet blog. If you’ve any experience with either one of the programs, please share it in the comment area below. For more affiliate marketing tips and training, feel free to check out my recommended training platform here.